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SPOK'EJTENON. y Patented Apr. 17, 1333;

NITED STATES WILLIAM F. MOR ON, oENEW HAvEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE HALE TO GEORGE F. HOLCOMB, H. sHEEMAN HEICELCW, ALL OF SAME PLACE.

SPOHKE-TENCYIN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 381,270, dated April 17. 188 8. 7

Application filed April 23, 1887.

To aZZ whom it may concern.- I

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM F. MORTON,Q

residing at New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tenon and MortiselJoints; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descrip-- tion of the" same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of to this specification.

Ithas long been the aim of carriage-builders 2o ends in view and heretofore, compressed spoketenons have been made by compressing a suit able blankedgewise or sidewise, or at different times both edgewise and sidewise, When compressed in "one dimension, they will expand in the other dimension, and if then again compressed in the dimension in which expansion was previously allowed a second rearrangement ofthe fibers will ensue. Oompressed tenons produced under any of these methods are frequently. splintered v and inv variably weakened to aserious extent by the distorting rearrangement of their fibers, which are crushed, strained, and wrenched, so that the life of the wood is lost and the tenons permanently injured. Tenon-blanks have also been compressed by confiningthem in one dimension and compressing them in the opposite direction. This -method involves-the same derangement of the fibers as do the processes re- 0 ferred to above, although, perhaps, the fibers may not be forced so far from the lines of natural growthor'so distorted and wrenched'as in the said processes. This last-described method involves, however, under the ap= pliances employed, theproduction of fins or burrs upon the corners of the tenons, caused by the pushing and crowding of the surface fibers through the openings necessarily left between the confining blocks and the compressing dense a tenon without cracking or splintering Serial No. 235,836. (No model.)

mechanisms. These fibers must be removed from the tenons,w'hich are therefore deprived of fibers which should have contributed to their strength. @All other'methods of c0mpressing 'tenon-blanks have also involved the v samelobjecti'ons of forcing the fibers Tout of '5 their naturalrelative positions and away from I thelines of their natural growth, and of pro-- ducing burrsor fins, depriving. the 'tenons of their full complement of fibers, and therefore making them weak. lt has also been sug 6'0 geste'd' to form a compressed tenon by compressing a blank Without any attempt to shape it inthe form of a tenon,'and then to cut the compressed blank down to the-required form."- This process would not only involve the obj eotions stated, of distorting and weakening the fibers, but also the further objection of rem0v= ing some fibers. and cutting others so asto greatly weaken the tenon;

Theobjections'above recited to compressed tenons,"and especially that of their impairment v in strength, has justly resultedin a feeling of prejudice against them, and. so strong has" this feeling been that the makers of high-class carriages have looked upon the whole subject with extreme distrust. i V 7 My invention is designed toavoid the above objections, to place thematter of condensing spoke-tenons on a practical'basis, and to conso it, withouttwisting, distorting, or wrenching its fibers, and withoutthe production of any 'ordinary-tenon, easier and'safer to drive than such a tenon, and maintained rigidly in its mortise by its powerof expansionthereintoit Withthese ends in view my invention consists in a compressed tenon having its fibers uniformly compacted by simultaneous side 1 )7 wise and edgewis'e compressions. g

My invention further consistsin a tenonblank having both of its sides and both of its edges beveled; so as to gradully widen it both HOLCOMB, AND HOB RT My invention further consists in certain other details and features, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In theaccompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a broken view, in side elevation, of a spoke having a tenon-blank formed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a similar edge view of the spoke and blank. Fig. 3 is an end view showing the blank and the shoulders of the spoke. Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation showing the tenon produced by simultaneously subjecting such a blank to edgewise and flatwise compression. Fig. 5 is an edge view showing the tapering back of the tenon; and Fig. 6 is an end view ofthe tenon, showing also the shoulders of the spoke.

Under my invention a spoke, A, having shoulders B B, is provided with a tenon-blank having its sides O and its edges D D beveled, so as to gradually'widen it both fiatwise and edgewise from its inner to its outer end. This blank is simultaneously subjected to edgewise and fiatwise pressure to form, without any subsequent dressing operation involving the removal of some of its fiber, a compressed tenon having flat sides E E, indented to increase their capacity for retaining glue, a flat forward edge, F, constituting its face, and a tapering rear edge, H, constituting its back, the blank being compressed more at its outer than at its inner end. The blank is also compressed more edgewise than flatwise, because the hub will bear without splitting more longitudinal than transverse strain. Before the tenon so compressed has had an opportunity of recovering its original or blank shape it is introduced into a mortise of ordinary form, which it expands into and fills, and in which it is held under astrong pressure outward and especially from its edges. The expansion of the tenon being proportional to its compression, it swells most at its outer end, which occupies the bottom of the mortise, where it is virtually locked, and where the greatest strain beveling the back of the tenon the fibers at such point are deflected from the lines of nat ural growth, the deviation will be too slight to be of practical importance. The wood is condensed, and therefore made stronger, without in any way impairing the life of the fibers, which are neither wrenohed,-twisted, cut, nor pushed off in the form of burrs or fins, as incident to the old processes; nor are the tenons cracked or splintered or otherwise weakened, as they have been formerly. Moreover, by compressing the blank so as to form a tenon all ready for driving, and so avoiding preparing the tenon for driving by removing burrs or fins, or without other dressing operation involving removing a portion of its fiber, the full strength of the wood is not only preserved, but an economy of time and labor is effected. Furthermore, by forming the tenons by simultaneoue sidewise and edgewise compression, the pores of the wood are drawn together and completely closed,whereby the tenon'is prevented, when in its mortise, from taking up any of the oil which may reach it from the box, as often happens, whereas a splintered tenon or one having its pores broken or imperfectly closed will readily absorb such oil and work loose, and can never be made to hold again, but will always play in its mortise.

It is obviously not necessary to simultaneous flatwise and edgewise compression that the tenon blank be beveled on both sides and both edges, as described, although that form is preferred.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A burrless compressed tenon having its fibers uniformly compacted and the bonds of natural process between them preserved unbroken by simultaneous ed gewise and sidewise compression, substantially as set forth.

2. A burrless compressed tenon having straight sides, a straight face, a beveled back, and its fibers uniformly compacted, and the bonds of natural process between them preserved unbroken by simultaneous ed gewise and sidewise compression, substantially as set forth.

3. Atenon-blank having both of its sides and both of its edges beveled, so as to grad ually widen it both sidewise and edgewise from its inner to its outer end, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM F. MORTON. Witnesses:

GEO. F. HoLooMB, Calls. B. SHUMWAY. 

